As many of you know, our friend and fellow runner, Keith Straw will be racing Badwater for the second year in a row. This is a really big deal and only a handful of athletes in the world can even qualify to get to the start line (80 this year). Keith is one of them (bib number 60) and will need all our positive energy flowing toward Death Valley early next week. Keith starts his race at 8:00 Monday morning, Death Valley time, which is three hours behind east coast time.
There are lots of ways to keep up with Keith that won't require enduring 117 degree days. You will see periodic updates from me, relayed from the team on site, plus listed below are several links and further information about the race.
GO KEITH! GO TEAM TUTU!
BADWATER WEBCAST STARTS SUNDAY
The world's toughest foot race, Badwater Ultramarathon, begins Monday, July 12 in Death Valley. The competitors from 16 countries will run 135 miles non-stop to the end of the road on Mt. Whitney. If you'd like to follow all the action, please tune into the webcast of the race, which will begin Sunday afternoon with check-in and the pre-race meeting, then will take off full-time Monday morning through Wednesday evening. Bookmark this link and start hitting it after noon on Sunday, July 11 for all the action:
We wish all the runners and crews a safe and successful race, we thank the race staff for all their hard work, we tip our hat to the fine folks at the National Park Service, Inyo County, U.S. Forest Service, California Highway Patrol, and CA Department of Transportation, we thank all our sponsors, we thank our friends along the race route in Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, Panamint Springs, and Lone Pine, and, finally, we appreciate everyone's support and good cheer!
Psst! The Badwater Hall of Fame will welcome a new member on Sunday!
______________________________
Thanks for your support and participation, everyone!
Yours in sport and adventure,
Chris Kostman
Chief Adventure Officer and Race Director
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July 12th - Badwater Start
Hi folks:
Here's the update from the team on site:
"And we're off. 98 degrees at the start at 8am. Now at M5, Keith looking and feeling comfortable on 11 minute pace. Crew all together until M17, Furnace Creek. VERY EXCITING!"
A couple more photos for the album of Keith's Greatest Races that I know you all have, as I do.
July 12th
Hi folks:
Here is the latest from our pink-clad friend's support crew:
"First marathon done at 4:58. 4 more to go and then the climb to Whitney Portals. "Getting a little hotter now" said Keith at 112 degrees. He's running well, eating and drinking."
And, of course, one more pic, though I can't quite figure out if this is the celebratory marathon pic. I am thinking so.
One marathon down. It might as well be a million more, for us mere mortals! Go Keith!
See the udpates provided from Badwater to our PA man . . . Jim Mchale who share with Fast Tracks group
July 11th
Hi folks:
Here's the word from the team in Death Valley:
"Team Tutu is heading to Badwater Basin and to the meeting at Furnace Creek. Vans are FULLY packed with 54 gallons of water and 19 gallons of GatorAde. Great time last night drinking at Stovepipe Saloon once we finally got to Stovepipe Wells, M42 on the course, sea level, and Team Tutu headquarters."
And the first (before) pics. Hope you all enjoy the experience out there. We are pulling for you! Sleep well.
July 12th
Don't let this Husband and Wife Ultra Running Duo fool you!! The Murphy's have been to Badwater before crewing for none other than Jacki Florine! ( in 2008 - http://web.mac.com/merigayle/Site/Blog/Entries/2008/7/23_The_Badwater_Report.html, surviving devestating heat and flash floods). This year their runner - Tony Portera has trained with and was coached by the best of the best - Jaime Donaldson - the women's standing Badwater champion from 2009. Jaime also is running it this year.
The Murphy's Team can also be followed on FB and via Twitter: irunultras (twitter name). Zoe Murphy is breaking the record for the youngest crew member at Badwater - coming in at approx 1 year 2 months - go Zoe!
Good luck to all runners, crews, and ultra fans; the east coast will be watching! :-)
July 12th
Hi folks:
I haven't heard from the support team in a few hours, but that is to be expected since the cell tower distribution in Death Valley isn't exactly complete.
I did check out the website and see that Keith passed the 41.9 mile point in very good position. Here is a copy of his results from the website.
Station MilesArrival ArrivalElapsedAvgTime fromAvg Speed
Also, I have started a Team Tutu Facebook page where I will have all the photos, so you don't have to worry about pulling them down yourself. Just gotta figure how to get them in order on FB. Something for me to do in the wee hours. . .
July 12th . . . 10:50
This race is so cool (for us, anyway). Who would have thought technology in such a place could be used in such a creative manner?
This from Sarah German:
So...here's a great use of technology for you...
Hannah was sitting in Starbucks this morning, in Boston, supposedly working on a paper for her summer class. HOWEVER, the call of Bad Water was too great. So she checked out the web cam, and figured that Keith and company would be arriving at the first aid station shortly. Since she didn't have her phone, she emailed Milo's phone, asking him to wave at her into the web cam, when they reached the check station. He did, and she got a quick screen capture. Cool, huh?
Sarah
Which means we just have to have a pic, right?
BTW, Starbucks in PA is now supposed to have free WiFi, so feel free to check on Keith while sipping your morning beverage, eating a croissant, reading the paper, all in the comfort of a gentle air conditioned restaurant.
July 13th
Hi folks:
Still no word from Death Valley. In case you want to see how Keith is doing, here is the link:
http://www.badwater.com/2010web/index.php
Click the first link (Results & Time Splits (Searchable Database), then look for number 60 (he hasn't reached the next Time Station yet, which is mile 72.3).
If you are looking for something to do, or someone else to watch check out this guy: Jack Denness, age 75. He is the OLDEST competitor to have ever entered Badwater. When he was 70 he was the oldest finisher to ever complete Badwater. So now he's back to break his own record!
And if you are looking to follow anyone else, here is Meredith's runner, Tony Portera is number 89.
Thanks to Kerry for those two other racers to watch.
July 13th
Hi folks:
No word from the team, but the website is showing our guy having a nice stroll:
Station MilesArrival ArrivalElapsedAvgTime fromAvg Speed
With this Time Station he is a bit over half way there.
July 13th
Hi everyone:
I received two updates just now, one a bit older, but here goes:
Keith passed through at mile 72 at 12:53 am local time after a swift 13 mile downhill from Townes Pass which is at 5500 ft
Team Tutu is doing well and now it's on to Lone Pine
Andi
The latest word comes from Bobbi:
At 6:30 this morning, Keith passed out of Death Valley continuing his trek to Mt Whitney. He walked and jogged through the cool night and looks great. The planned rest stops with food, cooling and massage before the big climbs seem to be effective.
Almost 8am now and still cool. Mt Whitney, beautiful giant, looming dead ahead.
And from the website:
Station MilesArrival ArrivalElapsedAvgTime fromAvg Speed
Well, Keith has competition in the Pink Tutu category at Keeler. Check out the pic from Dwight of a dashing young man in garb. My guess is the team is getting sun stroke.
No change on the web site from his last Time Station (which was at 90.1 miles about 6 hours ago, next is at 122.3 miles which is 32.2 miles).
July 13th
Hi folks:
This just in from Bobbi:
Waiting in Lone Pine for Keith (and pink Ken) to pass here at M120. Then Milo, Robin and I will accompany him through town and up the final switchbacks to the finish at Whitney Portals. At M90 in Darwin time station, they told us Keith was 20th to pass through there, regardless of 6, 8, or 10am start.
Keith has been gracious and steady throughout!
This from Jim:
Who wants to make a bet on whether Keith or Ken make it to the finish first? Ken looked pretty fresh! :-)
July 13th
This from Bobbi:
Keith will be arriving at Lone Pine in a few minutes. He's tired and his feet hurt (duh!) but he's still moving forward. This photo will give you an idea of his final climb.
July 13th
Oh yeah. Oh Yeah. Closin' in.
From Bobbi:
"Shower, massage, turkey roll and tea. Massage, foot care. Ressurection. Heading up the mountain."
I've had Bobbi's massages. She always seems to hit the spot that needs it most. Still don't know how she does it.
Here are the stats from the web site. Hands up. How many of you can even conceive of getting to this point?
Station MilesArrival ArrivalElapsedAvgTime fromAvg Speed
The last 12.7 miles cover 4750 feet vertical or 374 feet/mile (see below for a truly scary profile).
Keith, if you can hear us, feel us, sense us, we have you in our thoughts.
July 13th
Simply AMAZING!
From Bobbi on the ground:
"39:22. We're all very proud. And very tired."
He beat midnight, west coast time. I am sure when they recover a bit there will be more photos to come. What an amazing effort. Congratulations to Keith and his whole team.
Station MilesArrival ArrivalElapsedAvgTime fromAvg Speed
I just received an update from the team from Andi:
"We all enjoyed today seeing Mt Whitney in the daylight! We were able to watch a record, the oldest Badwater finisher, Jack Denness age 75 cross the line in 59:22. It was a really cool moment.
Now the team is enjoying the pizza party and then it's time to start heading back to Vegas and home."
Vegas? I kinda expected to see Keith at Track tonight; was thinking he is slacking a bit these days.
Safe journeys, friends.
July 14th
Hi folks:
This note comes from Bobbi:
"Recovery day photos. Thx for following the adventure. All is well."
All is well, indeed.
July 19th
Hi folks:
While we all enjoyed cheering Keith as he suffered through the desert, the photos I was receiving from the team were limited by the strength of the cell signals the on site team was getting. Bobbi has put together two albums on Shutterfly which have more pics. I personally got a kick out of number 12 in the second album, but that's just me.
As a side note, Keith finished the Vermont 100 this weekend. Unless he threw in a training run between Badwater and the Vermont 100, which is not as crazy as it sounds, his mileage for the week is 235.
Arrival Arrival
